Accor's Hotels Got a Boost From Luxury Spending and Olympics

Have you ever wanted to travel around the world by train, but in ultimate luxury rather than in cramped couchettes?

The rebound of global travel in 2024 has been accompanied by the demand for seamless, cashless transactions. Alipay+, Ant International’s cross-border mobile payment and digitalization service, has seen its transaction volumes triple this year.

As airlines compete to attract high-paying passengers, mini hotel-like suites are all the rage in business- and first-class cabins of commercial aircraft. But the reverse scenario—a commercial aircraft in a hotel suite—is a much rarer amenity.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, October 22, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, October 23, 2024, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

Finland's flagship carrier, Finnair, will expand in the United States next summer, launching its largest-ever schedule from the U.S. to Finland.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) saw strong momentum in its expansion efforts in the third quarter. The hotel group added 17,500 rooms across 98 hotels, more than doubling its growth pace from the same period last year.

Planning an end-of-year getaway? Spirit Airlines has dozens of flight deals for travel over the next three months, but you’ll want to act quickly to book. 

If you're looking for a true breath of fresh air in the most literal sense, the pros at QR Code Generator have a new study you're going to want to see. In September, the team unveiled the findings of its newest study, which showed which U.S. and European destinations have the lowest pollution rates, offering the cleanest air possible for travelers and locals alike. 

When most people think of Hyatt Hotels, they think of either luxury hotels (like the Park Hyatt Tokyo in the movie “Lost in Translation”) or urban business hotels (where your corporation’s annual holiday party takes place).

“As far back as I can remember, I knew I was different,” says Alexander Smalls. Growing up in a Gullah Geechee household in Spartanburg, North Carolina, the chef says he recognized the implication of those differences—in appearance, history, and cuisine. “I discovered early that my friends did not eat any of the foods that I ate. My foods were more akin to West Africa, you know, and very much pronounced in that way,” he says. It wan't until he moved to New York as an adult, that he assimilated the value of that diasporic connective tissue. “Food was a big part of cultural expression and identity of the African diaspora,” he says.

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